The Moonlight Tours at Spruces Campground take advantage of the unique opportunity of being in the canyons at night. Join a volunteer naturalist to learn about winter ecology and the nocturnal adaptations of some of the canyon’s most elusive residents. Spruces Campground features gentle, rolling terrain that makes this tour ideal for any participant, whether you are a beginner or an experienced snowshoer.
The Alta Snowshoe Tours highlight the natural history of Little Cottonwood Canyon and the unique human history of Alta, Utah. The Cottonwood Canyons Foundation is proud to partner with Alta to offer these guided snowshoe tours through Alta’s famous powder!
Spruces Family Tours are designed for families with school-aged children, and highlight topics such as canyon geology, watershed, winter wildlife, plants, public lands, and human use and impact. Young learners will have the chance to experience the canyons by using their senses and participating in a variety of hands-on activities designed to illustrate and reinforce ecological concepts. Come join us in the canyons for a fun and educational tour the whole family will enjoy.
The Ski with a Ranger program, provided in partnership with the US Forest Service, is based at Alta, Snowbird, Brighton and Solitude resorts. Participants join Volunteer Naturalist Rangers on the ski slopes to learn about the Cottonwood Canyons’ geology, history, winter ecology, watershed, wildlife, and more. These free, guided tours frequent only easy or intermediate ski runs and last approximately 45 minutes. A lift ticket or pass at the respective ski area is required. Please visit the Online Education page for information about virtual Ski with a Ranger Online Tours.
The Cottonwood Canyons Foundation Field Trips are designed for 4th and 5th grade students. CCF Certified Interpretative Guides have tailored the content of these field trips to reinforce what students are learning in their classrooms. Led by both experienced staff and fantastic volunteers, these programs seek to connect participants with the basic science of their watershed and the natural history of the Wasatch Mountains. During fall field trips at the Silver Lake Visitor Center, staff and volunteer naturalists engage students in a series of interactive activities that explore the importance of a healthy watershed and its connection to the greater canyon environment and their own lives. Students participate in a hands-on investigation of the variety of aquatic macroinvertebrates that live in the lake and discover what they can reveal about water quality. Students also get to experience the beauty of Silver Lake on an interpretive walk that highlights local wildlife, plants, geology, and history. Wintertime field trips take place on snowshoes at Spruces Campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The focus of these field trips is winter ecology, geology, wildlife, trees and plants, watershed, and human impact. All education programs have an emphasis on safety, stewardship, and learning.
